reflecting about the matter, I
think I can list at least these three important trends of Earthly evolution:
- Things generally
evolve from simple states to more complex ones
- The more highly
evolved a system, the less it wastes and the more it recycles
- The most highly
evolved creations, we humans, have certain traits that less sophisticated
creations don't, including the abilities to feel compassion, to recognize
beauty and create art, and to think things out and act accordingly instead
of always behaving instinctually
Viewing my own society from the
perspective of these three insights, I find that I must condemn some of its
dominant features. For:
- It replaces
diverse, often very complex and beautiful social systems with a single
simple one based on earning and spending money.
- It wastes and
destroys resources needed by all living things while providing short-term
material gain for a very few.
- It reduces too many
humans with enormous emotional, intuitive and artistic potentials to
desensitized and/or psychologically damaged automatons blindly serving the
narrow interests of a few.
- It fills our heads
with ads and political propaganda instead of teaching and encouraging
sustainable, loving ideals.
Therefore, fighting iguanas mean
this to me: That I have a mind and a spirit perfectly capable of seeing beyond
images of instinctual aggression -- be it battling iguanas or
consumption-focused society. I can aspire to higher meanings and principles.
*****
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Over the years often I've written
about plants and animals whose features were so remarkable that they seemed
almost inexplicable. I've used phrases such as "evolving toward" and
I've even referred to "the Creator." This has caused some to assume
that I am a proponent of "Intelligent Design."
Though the definition of "Intelligent
Design" hasn't yet crystallized well enough for me to take a final
position on it, my first impulse is to reject it decisively.
First, the name itself, in my
opinion, misses the mark. My experience with nature suggests that the Universe
has come about not through an intelligent plan but through something more akin
to a creative, spiritual impulse. This impulse is majestically magnanimous and
artful, yet not terribly concerned about the comfort or welfare of each of its
individual creations
Second, I believe
that one must judge a religion or any social or political construct not by its
Holy Scripture or manifesto, but by how the concept